Triple Pirouettes
by Aragem
Summary: Transformers Prime.  Three events occur at the same time.  A lone motorcycle, a falling star, and a terrible traffic accident occur together.  How do these three events tie together?  That's what Jack and Arcee find out.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Transformers Prime

_"Most people think of ballet as children in little tutus._

_They don't know it is sweat, blood and tears as well!"_

- Nan Keating

Three Events, Three Happenings

A violet motorcycle glided along the lone roads of the Nevada desert. The cycle had a passenger, feminine in appearance with an anonymous helmet hiding the face. The arms and weight shifted in response to the cycle's movement, instead of it being the other way around. The bike coasted along the curve then, screech to a halt, leaving a dark mark on the road.

In the cycle's single headlight, a light from the sky reflected. It started out as having a long orange tail, before it ebbed again to reveal small tiny lights glowed as the sharp figure that was a shade darker than the starry night sky. The figure disappeared between two distant mountains. The violet bike, turned away and continued along its long solidarity path.

Many miles to the west, a woman walked along the city streets on her way to a practice session in a studio at the end of the block on the other side of the street. The woman stepped off the curb, crossing the street in a quick pace, and in her hurry, she didn't notice the revving of engines from around the corner of the build down the corner from her.

Headlights flashed around the corner as it spun around the corner. The lights flooded over the woman in the middle of the street, who stopped in surprised, then turned into the bright lights only to be blinded. The vehicle didn't stop, nor slow down. The car didn't collide with the woman, to collide would to mean that the car stopped. It didn't stop, it kept going. The woman smashed against the hood, then rolled onto it and up and over the windshield. She was airborne for three solid seconds before landing in a heap on the pavement.

The car sped away, dashing around the corner past the studio which had been the woman's destination. The wheel of tires died on the air as it came to silence, only broken by the ragged breathing and coughing from the broken heap on the road.


	2. Dance in the Desert

_"A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double." _  
>~Toni Morrison<p>

Three Months Later

It was a cool Saturday morning in Jasper, Neveda when Jack Darby woke up that morning to the sound of a revving engine in the garage. He rolled in his bed, blankets tangling around his body as he glanced at the clock by his bed and groaned. It wasn't even 7:00 yet. Ever since he met Arcee, it had been a long time since he slept past 7:00 on a Saturday morning. He let his head sink into the pillow and closed his eyes as sleep lulled him back, but Arcee's sudden roar tore him open his eyes. With a groan, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and snagged his jeans from the back of his desk chair and struggled into them.

Five minutes later, he was opening the garage door, "Arcee, you do know that there are other people on the block that like to sleep in on weekends."

Arcee halted in the middle of rev, her cycle mode facing the door, "You only need 8 hours of sleep to function efficiently, Jack. And your mom wanted you to take the trash out anyway."

Jack groaned as he remembered the unwanted chore his mother tasked him with last night. "Sure, just give me ten minutes and I'll get that done."

He stepped back in the kitchen and past the morning news report on the small standard tv on the kitchen counter. June enjoyed watched the news with a cup of coffee in hand, but sometimes she had to rush out and forget to turn it off. While tugging the garbage bag out of the bin, he listened to the end of the weather report to a reporter giving an update on an opera singer from Britain going on a sudden vacation right before a performance.

Fifteen minutes later, on Arcee's vehicular mode seat with helmet in place, they sped along the road toward the dessert. It was too easy for people to see if a ground bridge appeared in the neighborhood and besides, Jack enjoyed riding to the missile silo, especially when they left the town limits and Arcee would really kick up the speed. He tended to believe that she enjoyed the drive as much as he did. As they past KO Burger, Jack looked back at that place. He had loathed the job he held there, cleaning up messes, dealing with rude customers, and being harassed by an annoying manager that was just a few years older than himself. It had been the worst summer of his life when he got the job in hopes of buying his own motorcycle, that is before he met Arcee, and now that was all behind him. When his mother learned of the Autobots, he was free to quit his job and spend his free time with the bots, granted that he finished his homework and did his chores.

Arcee was meticulous with the traffic laws in the town. She stopped at stop signs and red lights, used her turn signals, and gave adequate space with the vehicle in front of her. But once they left the town limits, Jack tighten his grip on her bars and leaned forward as her engine revved to life. He felt the air whip his shirt about his waist as she ripped along the road. He crowed as she leap back onto her back wheel. Just as she landed on her forward wheel, a second rev of engines echoed off in the west.

He glanced off the road to see a second motorcycle spouting dust clouds behind it, its rider a white cloud upon its back. It was heading toward the road they traveled. It wasn't uncommon to see other bikers along the same road close to the city limits.

Arcee slowed, and Jack could hear the soft whir of her headlight, which served as an optical sensor flick toward the biker. He knew her enough to know that she was accessing the other bike as a potential threat. "It's alright, Arcee. I think he's just having a good time."

Arcee didn't respond, instead she slowed to an almost stop. Jacket rested his feet on the pavement as they both watched the bike approach closer and closer. It was getting close enough for Jack to see that the rider was wearing a white coveralls and matching helmet. "Arcee, what's wrong. . . "

"That. . . bike. I. . . I've seen its make before. . ." Arcee murmured.

Jack's hands tighten on the handlebars. "Decepticon?"

"No." Arcee's voice was firm, but distant as if lost in a memory. "Something, or something else."

The bike drew close enough for Jack to see the brilliant violet with black inlays that stripped across the road before them with a loud engine cry kicking up dust on the other side of the road. Jack turned his head away as the dust cloud enveloped them. As he coughed, he nearly spilled off the bike as Arcee whipped around and followed the violet bike, her wheels cutting through the dirt and sand, kicking up her own dust cloud.

"Arcee!" Jack yelped as he clung to her. "What are you doing!"

"I know her." Arcee's voice carried through the engine roar. "I know her, Jack."

"Wait, are you sure? Is it another Autobot?" Jack bowed his head as they entered the dust cloud following the violet cycle. His teeth rattled from the bumpy ground.

Arcee didn't reply, but bowled forward, matching the stranger bike's speed, running side by side. Jack looked over at the fellow biker, but the feminine figure didn't glance at him, never acknowledging him. Just like Arcee's hologram didn't respond to anything.

The bikes roar their engines neck to neck, as if in the desperate race against each other. As the violet bike suddenly change direction, so did Arcee, matching its movement and speed, not falling behind one inch. Jack held on, this wasn't his show, it was theirs.

For five minutes, this race continued. As the bike moved, so did Arcee and as Arcee moved, so did the bike. As Jack was rocked violently as Arcee twisted around to meet the violet bike movement, he realized that this wasn't a race, it wasn't even a game. It was like a dance with the violet bike in the lead and Arcee following.

The bike screeched to a halt, it's body swinging around to face Arcee as she too screech to a halt, nearly tossing him from the seat. The rider disappeared from its seating as the hologram was called back. The bike unfolded itself in the way that Jack had seen Arcee do so many times in the past.

For a moment, he believed that he was looking at purple Arcee. However, his eyes quickly caught the differences that separated them. Along her purple metal, engraves swirl decoratively along her arms and legs. The fins at her shoulders seemed to flair outward in curls instead of sharp angles. Even her helm was encrusted with decoratively symbols and the inset stones caught in the sunlight.

Jack was finally tossed off as Arcee herself transformed. Jack's rear landed on the dirt with a soft thump. He ignored the injustice of being tossed off so casually to stare at his Guardian and the stranger which look so much like her.

"You should be more careful with pets, sis." The stranger spoke with a smooth silky tone. "Remember that fish you had that you overfed and it died."

"No," Arcee's voice carried a pitch as a small tight smile crossed her face. "You were the one who overfed the fish and then blamed me when it died."

"Oh, yes, I remember now." The stranger crossed her arms, flexing one hip to the side. "That little thing was going to die anyway, they have such short lifespans."

"Yeah, short lifespans." Arcee agreed as her voice choked.

Jack stood, dusting the dirt from his pants legs. "Arcee? Who is this?"

"This is my sister, Jack." Arcee's voice was full of emotion, it brimmed at every word. "This is. . . her name would translate into Echo, in your language."

* * *

><p>In the town of Jasper, there is a bathroom door. From behind this door, one could hear the water running and see the light flowing from beneath the door. A woman knocks on this door inquiring about the occupant inside. When there was no reply, the response was the splintering of wood and a bang as the door was forced open spilling light into the hall.<p> 


	3. Reunion

_NOTE: I had a better chapter nearly completed when a virus decided to kill my laptop and I had to format reinstall and lost it. So I had to rewrite it, which sucked. The last chapter had more emotion to it, but I think I pulled it off in the end.  
><em>

_When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight._ ~Kahlil Gibran

"She looks like Lady Gaga if she was a robot." Miko later commented when Arcee and Jack brought Echo to the missile silo.

"Miko, hush, that's Arcee's sister." Jack hissed beside her at their spot at the railing of the second floor overlook the bottom where the Autobots and Echo were gathered.

"I didn't mean it like an insult." Miko retorted as she flicked open her cellphone and snapped a few shots of the new Cybertronian.

"When Crystal City fell, we got separated." Arcee explained to the group, standing close to what appeared to be her violet doppelganger. "I tried to find her, but the fighting and the Decepticon occupation was too much for me. I joined the Autobots and started fighting believing that she had been killed."

"But what actually happened was that I was captured." Echo continued the story from her end. "They Decepticons interrogated me and when they finally realized that I had nothing to offer them, they threw me into a Decepticon prison camp where I was held for many vorns. I am loathed to go into detail about my time there, but fortunately, some other prisoners and I were able to break out. I returned to ruins of what was once Crystal City and tried to find Arcee or at least discover were she went."

"But by that time, I had already joined Optimus's team and we had left Cybertron." Arcee murmured a flash of deep pain and regret moved behind her optics. A look that Jack had seen too often in his Guardian.

"After a while, I had given up hope of finding her. I move on to other stars and I had to do things I'm not proud of to survive, but I survived nonetheless." Echo placed a hand on Arcee's shoulder, her fingers squeezing in affectionately. "I was on a trade station when I ran into an Autobot named Wheeljack. He mistook me for you, Arcee, at first, but then he told me what planet you were on and I got here as soon as I could."

"I'm glad you found me." Arcee placed her hand on Echo's and held it there for a moment. "You. . . you seem so different."

"Dear Spark, I'm no longer that spoil whiny femme. What I had to endure these past eons has changed me. I've exchanged my old ways for new ways and I can handle myself from now on." She dropped a hand to the hilt of the blades that crisscrossed at the small of her back.

"It is fortunate to see such a reunion despite surmountable odds." Optimus Prime's deep voice rumbled warmly through the base. "The war has taken so much from each of us, it is always heartening to see when one gets a piece of their life back."

"Uhhh, how do we know that this is the real Echo?" Bulkhead inquired, a large ebony hand rubbing the back of his helm; embarrassed as disturbing the warm scene. "I mean, we all know what happened with Wheeljack."

With that, all the Cybertronians and humans looked at the stranger in the room. The stranger in question stood looking at the mechs in bemusement with her arms crossed beneath her metallic bosom as she flexed her hip to one side. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to bite."

"Oh, we're not scared." Bulkhead was quick to shake his head. "It's just that a few months back, when Wheeljack visited, a Con showed up disguised as him and tried to turn us into scrap."

"Trust me, she's my sister. She knew about the pet fish we had before the war." Arcee remained close to Echo's side like a reflection in a mirror. "She's not a fake."

"But I am still going to be running scans on her for the next several hours. Just in case." Ratchet said from his work bench. "If she's carrying so much as a bomb under her chassis, I'll know it."

Echo's optical brows drew upward in surprised. "Is that really necessary?"

Arcee offered her sister an apologetic smile. "We've had some strange things happen around here so don't take it personally. It's better to just let him do it before he grinds a gear."

"I heard that." Ratchet turned with a scanner in hand, adjusting the settings to his liking. A green line appeared across her waist and then slowly moved up her front to the top of her head and then moved downward to her feet. The green light disappeared and the scanner chimed in Ratchet's hand. "She's clean. But I will want to run diagnostics later."

"That's fine. Whatever makes you feel secure around me." Echo waved her hands to show she held no offense.

"Echo, what are your plans?" Arcee's voice was heavy, as if she fear asking the question. "Are you staying? I know you hated the fighting back then, but we could use you around here."

Echo drew herself closer to Arcee, her hands resting her on her shoulders. "If Optimus Prime will have me be part of his team, then I will stay." She leaned in closer, her lips close to Arcee's audio. "And even if he tells me to bugger off, I'll still stay."

"Echo is welcomed to join us, but before she join in any work on the field, we will need to access her abilities and combat performance." Optimus turned his head to Arcee with a warm smile. "But for now, I'm sure you'd want to spend some time with her catching up."

"Cool! A new Autobot! We have got to get her a human partner." Miko's voice piped up from the guard railing as she snapped another pic of Echo.

Again, Echo's optical ridges drew upward and Arcee was quick to speak, "Don't mind what Miko says. She's joking of course." However, with Miko, one can never be too sure whether what she says is said in jest or seriousness.

"Hey, are you two twins?" Raf inquired. He had been sitting atop of Bumblebee's shoulder looking back and forth between the two femmes. "Except for your colors, you two look so much alike."

"Twins? Oh, no. We just have the same body type and Well of Allspark created us nearly at the same time. Echo here is actually older than me by a few minutes."

"Cybertronian twins are rare." Ratchet explained as he looked over the results of Echo's scan on a holographic-imager at his station. "They have to be split from the same spark and most of the time the resulting sparks extinguish before they are given form."

"Arcee, why don't you show me around." Echo touched Arcee's arm. "And we can catch and talk."

An hour later, Jack was by himself playing the car racing game. Raf had an earlier curfew so Bumblebee took him home and Miko convinced Bulkhead to take her for a ride in the mountainous range. Arcee wasn't one to playing video games, she was more active than that. She preferred exploring, scouting, and racing which Jack usually took part in unless it was too dangerous. Jack didn't flinch when his car was pushed off the track by the npc car and it burst into an explosion of orange pixels. He turned off the console and set aside the controller to sit in silence and think.

When he had first met her, she had been grieving for Cliffjumper, her last partner. At first, she had pushed Jack away, seeing him only as a burdensome responsibility placed upon her by Optimus Prime, but eventually she accepted him as a new partner. He had always felt that he was filling an empty role in her life that had once been occupied by Tailgate and Cliffjumper, but now that he saw Arcee with Echo, he now suspected that each of them was filling in an empty place as well.

He had never seen Arcee as she was around Echo before. Arcee seemed nervous, affectionate, and just happy. She had always been serious either following the rules or skirting danger. She loved Echo, he could see that plainly as anyone else. And that left him with a sense of dread and anxiety about it. What if what was missing in Arcee's life had finally came back and she had no need for a partner?

"Hey, partner."

Jack leaned forward to glance down and see Arcee standing on the lower level. "Arcee, hey, I thought you were with Echo."

"Ratchet stole her away to run some tests." Arcee glanced away, her arms cross across her chest. "Where are the others?"

"Raf went home and Miko and Bulkhead are on another adventure somewhere." Jack leaned on the railing staring down at his partner.

"I see." Arcee turned and leaned her back against the metal wall. She was silent for a long moment, her optics studying the floor before her.

Jack recognized a brooding Arcee when he saw it. She had been this way a while after they first encountered Arachnid, when the terrible memories from the past would haunt her. He stepped down the tall stairway feeling confused and sympathy for his Guardian. "Arcee, you don't talk about yourself much. Nothing about your time before the war started."

"I know. Sometimes talking about it is just too painful." Arcee murmured and a momentary silence followed. "Jack, I never told you what caste I was in, did I? You know that Ratchet was in the medical caste and Bulkhead was a laborer."

"Yeah . . ." Jack drew his breath. Was Arcee going to tell him what caste she was in?

"If I tell you this, I want it to stay between us. Echo won't tell because she understands. It'll damage my reputation and Miko will never it rest if she ever found out." Arcee sank down to the floor, sitting with her back against the wall. "Promise?"

"I promise." Jack assured her as he drew close and took a seat himself on the floor next to her. He began imagining the type of castes she had been part of. Warriors? Spies? Assasins? Maybe police?

"Echo and I were. . . both. . . in the Artisan caste."

Jack was quiet for a moment. "As in painting and sculpting?"

"Uhh, no. I mean as in singing and dancing."

Another moment of silence as Jack imagined Arcee twirling about on a Broadway stage in front of a live audience and another of her singing into a microphone in a live concert. "You. . . sang?"

"No!" Arcee responded quickly. "I mean, I tried to, but I didn't have the talent for it. I was able to dance well enough, but. . . I was one of the unlucky many that was placed into a caste that was unsuited for them. But Echo . . ." A small smile touched her lips. "She excelled at it. She was best, the Jewel of Crystal City they called her. She was the most requested at gatherings of the upper castes and the Elite. She had many admirers and it was one of them that gave her the fish as a pet."

"What was that like?" Jack asked, "The fish, I mean."

"It was beautiful. It had a small body, but it had such long fins that could spread out like fans as big as my head and had a multitudes of colors. Echo didn't usually accepted gifts from anybody. She said it gave them ideas that was better left out of their processors, but I liked the fish so much, she made an exception and accepted it. It lived for almost a year, but we enjoyed it while it lasted."

Jack stared up at her. There was still a sadness in her optics that carried heavy and deep. "Arcee, is Echo coming here a bad thing?"

Arcee was quiet for moment then slowly shook her head. "No. I love Echo so much and I am happy that she is back in my life. Truly I am, but. . . Jack, if only you had known her before the war. She had been so full of life back then. She. . . she was like Miko, but with the hyperactivity dialed down and common sense dialed up. She loved being the center of attention, she hated it whenever a lot of people were gathered and they weren't all talking about her. When the war started at Iacon, Echo kept saying that it wouldn't come close to Crystal City and refused to believe it when reports of the war coming cloer

The old Echo would have been basking in the attention from everyone earlier and would have flirted with the mechs, but. . . she's different now. You couldn't see, no can see it, but I can. That spark, that zest she had back then. . . it's gone. Its another reminder of something I'll. .. we'll never get back again."

Jack touched her hand, his small fragile human hand stroked her metal arm guards in a motion to calm the pain in her spark. "Arcee, it's alright. I know it will be. You two have been apart for so long, you just to get to know each other again."

Arcee offered Jack a weak smile, her optics reflecting the affection she had for her smaller charge. She gently ruffled his hair with the tips of her long fingers. "Thanks Jack and you're right. I have to let go of what once was and embrace what is present."

* * *

><p>Echo stared up at the ceiling as Ratchet ran his tests on her in his med-bay. She was being patient, but it was growing thin as he constantly delve into her systems checking and rechecking to make sure she didn't carry any viruses, spy equipment, or had a Decepticon hidden away in her chassis. She pasted the time thinking about Arcee.<p>

Arcee had changed so much since they last say each other. She was no longer the shy, unsure young femme that Echo had sheltered and cared for. She was a confidant warrior beauty that flowed with grace and danger with every movement. The war had certainly changed her as it had changed Echo. Just as Arcee grieved for the past with Jack, so too did Echo, but now she also grieved not only for what he had lost, but for all the things she had done since then that Arcee must never know of. And also, for what she will be doing in the future that Arcee and anyone else here must never know of.

* * *

><p>Atlanta, Georgia<p>

A midnight blue vehicle moved silently among the down trodden neighborhood. It was very much out of place, being a Mercedes in a neighborhood where most of the inhabitants only had enough money to take the bus. It weaved through the neighborhood and anyone who saw assumed it was some tourist that had gotten lost while traversing the lesser part of Atlanta. Others admired it and wished for better things in their lives.

The vehicle slowed to a stop near the yard of one house that held a small Playschool playhouse that was battered and stained. A little girl was sitting at the small pink foldout table holding a doll to her side and pretending to sip from an empty plastic teacup. The car cut its engines as it crept close to the corner of the unfenced yard and stood silent for a moment. The child ignored the car as she continued to play. She was a small child, seven years old with wearing pink scruffy shorts and stained white shirt with crusty rainbow paint on the front.

The car's passenger clicked softly open. Then the sounds of a puppy's yips touched the girl's ears. She turned her head and her large hazel eyes were on the car from which the puppy's whimpers originated from. "Puppy?"

The puppy's whimpers grew louder more incessant at the sound of her voice. The girl left her table to stand near the edge of her yard staring at the car. Her mother had told her never to leave the front which was the boundary held where the grass meets the pavement. But the puppy's cries was tugging at her heart. Maybe the puppy was hurt or hungry. He might even be scared crying for his mommy. There wasn't anyone in the car, so she wouldn't be talking to any strangers, just helping the puppy.

As the little girl drew closer, the door swung half way open and the puppy's cries grew louder, coming from the back seat. She stood up on her toes, which were nearly at the edge of the pavement to see if she could look in the backseat from her angle. No, she'd have to get into the car to see better. Just a quick look, to make sure the puppy was okay.

"Lindsey, come inside. It's time to eat!" Her mother's voice called from the window. "And don't you go out on that street! Come in here right now!"

Before the girl could point out the car with the puppy inside, the crying stopped and the car door slammed shut. The girl stared confused as the car engine spurred into a dull roar and pulled away from the curb faster than necessary, sweeping past her dangerously close. Her mother hollered in fright and ran out the door, cursing the car as it sped away. "Kids play around here, you bastard!"

Her mother snatched her up, looking her over to see if there was any injury and kissed her and repeatedly admonish her for getting too close to the road. The girl would later try to tell her mother that there was no one driving the car, that it drove off on its own, but her mother didn't believe. Eventually, the memory of the driverless car past into childhood fancy as she grew older, never to think upon that event throughout her life.


	4. The Ballerina

_A human life is a story told by God_. ~Hans Christian Andersen

During the week after her arrival, Echo had more than proved herself to be a capable fighter. During a scouting mission, Bulkhead and Arcee had come across an energon deposit being mined by worker class Decepticons. The ensuing battle resulted in the need for backup and Echo and Bumblebee was arrived shortly after Arcee was pinned down against a rock crevice with fire incoming from the west, east, and north. Bulkhead was busy against multiple target, unable to render aide.

Arcee had leaned over to return fire when he saw the violet flash of Echo's alt-mode in the sun. The violet bike sped forward, throwing up dust and grain, before kicking off from the ground and launching upward. The bike unfolded into Echo with both of her blades in hand. She landed on the Decepticon's back, cutting the fuel cord at his neck, bleeding his energon pool before he could realize that something had hit him. With a flick of one blade, she threw it in a straight land for it to enter the second Decepticon's optic. By this time, the third Con had noticed her and turned his fire on her. Echo darted to the right, then to the left missing the first two shots then charged forward. The third shot glanced off her shoulder guard and before he could get off a forth shot, she was on him. A splash of energon across the sand was an epitaph to the end of his life.

Arcee emerged from her shelter to wave at Echo, to indicate she was and then she turned to her next target. She forced herself to focus on the battle at hand. She wanted to stay close to Echo, to watch her back, but she understood that from earlier that Echo was quite capable of taking care of herself. But she still worried for Echo nonetheless. When it was over, and the energon deposit was secure and Fowler was contacted to bring in a mining crew to collect the won energon, Arcee took Echo aside.

"Where did you learn that?" Arcee was incredulous. What she had witness had been another reminder of the changes in Echo and it was still a bitter pill to swallow. "That was amazing!"

"It's something I picked up during my travels. I'm terrible with guns, but then again I've always been a more. . . hands on, I should say." With that she winked and transformers, speeding off across the sands, leaving Arcee to star after her. For a moment, the old Echo in her eyes and voice.

And for the first time, Arcee felt at peace about being around her sister as she transformed and followed the violet bike.

By the following Saturday, Arcee notice something. Echo was often alone. It wasn't that she chose to be alone, it's just that she didn't share the same interests as the others. She abhorred the music that Miko produced with her guitar, Bulkhead was too large and clumsy for her to interact with, whereas Raf and Bumblebee held none of the interests that Echo held. Arcee was the one who usually sat with her in their shared room listening to the old music files from Cybertron and reminisce about the past, but when Jack came, she left Echo alone to go scouting with him and taking him to and from school.

She felt as if she was being pulled in two between her partner and her sister. She could feel Echo's and Jack's disappointment when she left one to be with the other. She had her duty as Jack's Guardian, but then she also had her loyalty to her sister. She couldn't help, but feel that if Echo had a friend, then perhaps she wouldn't monopolize so much of her time. She slowly began to think that maybe having her own human wouldn't be such a bad idea.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday morning, Miko's guitar blared out causing Echo's optical ridges to narrow in annoyance, "Does she have to play it so loud?"<p>

"I think its supposed to be played that loud." Arcee murmured trying to placate Echo.

"No, it's needs to be played below the range of hearing because it is the noise of the Pit." Echo growled as she switched off the small compact that she stored her Cybertronian music on. "For that noise to be called music is a very poor joke."

Arcee checked her internal clock. It was Saturday, but June had asked Jack to run some errands for her today since she was covering for someone's shift at the hospital. "I have to go Echo. Jack will be waiting for me."

"Really? I mean, can't he ride that. . . that thing that looks like us, but doesn't have an engine. . . ?" Echo had yet to fully acclimate herself with human society.

"His bicycle? That would really drop him down a few bars in the High School hierarchy." Arcee didn't bother to tell Echo how much she was admired by Jack's peers at school. Though Echo was different now, she was afraid that it would spark the old jealousies in her sister to know that someone was being admired and it wasn't her. "I'll be back in a few hours, or better yet. Why don't you explore the town? You have a hologram of a human. Just don't stay in one spot for too long or a human is going to want to sit on you and pretend he's driving you."

"What?" Echo stared quizzically at her.

"It's weird, I know. That's sorta how I met Jack." Arcee said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You'll be fine and if anything happens, you can contact me."

Echo tossed her head away, a motion that Arcee was familiar with. It meant that Echo was feeling snubbed, but didn't care to show how much it bothered her. "Go on. Shouldn't keep your charge waiting too long."

As Arcee headed to the main part of the base where the ground bridge was kept, she wondered if Echo would take her advice and actually go exploring. Optimus was sharing her worry that Echo wasn't fitting in the base with her being aloof and not having much in common with any of the others. There was another fear that she wouldn't share the same feelings about the humans as they had come to feel towards their human companions and humanity in general. She seemed very disinterested in the children and Arcee could tell that she was a bit jealous of Jack's relationship with her.

There was nothing they could do, but hope for Echo to come around and she would have to be part of this team.

* * *

><p>June Darby was going through patient charts at the nurses station until she found the one she sought. It was a new patient that checked a week ago for medicinal drug overdose. She read over the chart, then Cherie, an older woman whose graying brown hair was tied back into a tight bun looked up at June through her thick frame glasses, "Is that the chart for the ballerina?"<p>

"Ballerina?" June looked down at her friend and coworker. "How do you know she's a ballerina?"

"Oh, these old ears can pick up a lot of things in this hospital." Cherie flashed her a grin. She had worked at hospital for over twenty years and was prone to gossip and rumor mongering. "It's sad though. What happened three months ago, I mean."

"What happened?" June asked, then got her answer as her eyes scanned down the chart. "Oh."

"Hit and run. Some punk ran her over and left her for dead in the middle of the road. They think she may have been lying in the road for an hour before anyone found her. Dr. Jamison looked over her files when they were transferred over and couldn't believe that she survived. Broke three ribs, dislocated her arm and hip, shattered the bones in her right leg, and fractured her skull. And that isn't even bring in all the lacerations and the month long coma." Cherie shook her head. "I can't believe the monsters that live in this world, you know?"

June remembered the first time she had met a monster, Arachnid and nodded, "I know a thing or two about monsters. She must still be in pain from her accident for her to take too many pain meds. I'm going to check on her. Make she has what she needs."

Cherie leaned forward, her eyes flashing as her glasses slid down her long nose. It was the look she had when she was sharing a juicy piece of gossip. "I heard that maybe the overdose wasn't accidental. I mean, her ballet career is over now because of her leg."

June's lips tighten into a firm line. "Cherie, I think she's been through enough without rumors going around this hospital about her."

With that, she spun on her heel and stalked down the hall. Cherie was a good nurse, in fact she helped trained interns on staff and had showed June the ropes when she was first hired. It just that she let gossip get too out of control. She too one quick glance at the chart to see the patient's name before stepping into the room. "Hello, Rachel Lynn? Hey, I'm June. I just wanted to see if you needed anything."

"She's fine." Came a dry reply that originated from a tall dark hair woman who was sitting in a guest chair with legs crossed and feet on the edge of the hospital bed and a baby in a car seat at her feet. The infant was asleep and from the pink one piece she wore, with a golden princess crown, was a little girl. Across her lap was celebrity magazine were on the cover was a picture of a rock star with headlines around his smiling face about his going awol during concert tour. "You can go. She doesn't need anything."

"Maybe so, but I need to hear confirmation from the actual patient." June stood her ground; she had dealt with difficult patients before and their families.

"I'm fine." This time the reply came from the bed. Laying on the bed was a lean woman in her twenties whose head was turned to the toward the window, her brown hair curled on the pillow behind her head.. June's nurses eye could make out the discoloration of healed skin on her right arm and her leg, From the angle June was standing, she could see an indention of scarred skin that would indicate a severe cut or trauma. Leaning against the wall next to her bed was a metal cane. "I just want to sleep right now."

"It's getting close to lunch." June glanced at the clock. "And your doctor did request that you gain weight to a healthy level. I can see about getting you something from the cafeteria."

"Nurse, she just said she wanted to sleep." The dark hair woman's voice was hard. "She'll eat when she feels up to it."

"Actually," Rachel Lynn's voice halted June from responding to the woman's rudeness. "I wouldn't mind eating something, but not cafeteria food."

The woman glanced at Rachel, and June notice that she was studying Rachel intensely. "So I take it you want me to go get you something, sis?"

"Yes, I'll eat a salad with some lean chicken." Rachel sat up, revealing her face for the first time. Her blue doe eyes offset a small nose with sultry lips. The side of her face was slightly flatter than the other, likely she had endured a facial fracture from the accident. "And don't bother getting a drink. Tap water will do just fine."

"Honey, you're going to have to eat some serious food and not the rabbit stuff you nibble on." The dark hair woman sat up taking her feet off the edge of the bed. "If I get you a hamburger, will you eat it without throwing it up later?"

"I promise to eat it and digest it and crap it." Rachel held up her hand in a mock of a boyscout vow. There was a slight bent in the middle finger, likely healed from a past break.

"Are you having trouble keeping food down?" June asked trying to keep her face steady. Did she have an eating disorder?

"I was feeling sick for a while." Rachel laid back, laying her hands across her stomach. "But I think I can keep it down alright."

"I can get you medicine for nausea." June offered as the dark hair woman stood up collecting her purse and the sleeping baby. The car seat swung slightly, but didn't disturb the sleeping infant.

"No need." The patient rolled onto her side, facing the window. The window was open toward the front of the hospital, down the main road of Jasper. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"If you need anything, you can ring for a nurse and one of us will come right away." June promised her as she stepped out with the woman who shut the door quietly.

The woman hefted the purse onto her shoulder and glanced at June, then spoke in an apologetic tone, "Look, sorry about my attitude in there. I'm her older sister and being protective just comes with it. The last several months have been hell and now this OD crap. I'm Maggie by the way and this is my daughter, Laura."

"June, June Darby. I understand. I heard about the accident." June walked with her down the hall toward the elevator. "How is she. . . taking it?"

Maggie was quiet for a long moment, their footsteps on the hard tile floor echoing down the hall. "Worse than she lets on. The doctors in California said that a muscle in her leg was cut nearly in two by her broken bones after the collision. He said that it's possible she can one day walk without a cane, but as for dancing as she did before. . . his words were, 'beyond the realm of reality.'"

"Being that blunt was uncalled for." June sometimes felt that doctors sometimes loose touch with people's feelings regarding loss. But then she figured after giving out so much bad news, they had to build a shell to protect themselves from emotional grief.

"That was what he said when I told him to go to hell." Maggie said with a gleeful smile. "Shoulda seen the look on his pompous face. But then when we got a second and third opinion, they all pretty much said the same thing, but with nicer words."

"Well, there is physical therapy." June offered as they both entered the elevator. She pressed the first blood button and stood to the wall. "And I heard of athletes making comebacks after accidents."

"Ballet is different." Maggie leaned against the wall opposite of June. "She had the lead role in the Company's performance, a very coveted role by most ballerinas. After her accident, her alternate took up the role and is keeping it throughout the season. Rachel's name is no longer on the brochure and her face had been replaced on the posters already. Out of sight, out of mind."

"She could dance again. It might take a couple of years. . . " The elevator reached the bottom and they both stepped out.

"Another problem." Maggie continued, her eyes looking tired and heavy. "She's 26 years old with her 27th birthday in two months. Ballet studios and companies prefer to hire younger dancers. If she ever makes a comeback, it'll be harder for her to be hired than when she was nineteen."

"I don't know what to say to that." June shook her head. "Did they. . . ever found the person who. . . . ?"

"Hit her? No, but we do know it was a blue car." Maggie's voice took on a hard tone. "You want to know how we know it was blue? Because the car hit her so hard, the paint embedded itself into her skin like some tattoo."

"Oh my God." June breathed feeling shocked. "But they don't have any leads? Nothing at all?"

"No, other than the color of the vehicle, they got nothing." Maggie's eyes were twin pieces of cold stone. "But if I ever get my hands on the creep, you mark my words, it'll look like he love tapped Rachel compared to what I'll do to him. Crap, I forgot my car keys. I gotta go back for them."

"Do you want me to watch Laura for you? I have a child myself and I know how heavy the car seats can be to carry."

"Would you? That would be great. I'll be back, won't take long." Maggie passed Laura over to June and trotted off. "Thanks again!"

Several minutes later, while June was filing away charts in the nurse's station with baby Laura set on the edge of the counter the phone rang with a light indicated that it came from room 203. Rachel Lynn's room. She answered it on the second ring. "Hello, nurse's station."

"June? Hey, uh. Can you come up here? Please?" Maggie's voice was tight and strained.

"What's wrong?" June's maternal instincts flared. Jack had spoken with the same tone when he broke his leg during a bicycle stunt when he was fourteen.

"Rachel's not here. I can't find her."

June was quiet for a moment. "Maybe she went to the cafeteria after all. I can go check."

"No, she wouldn't. Even if she did go get something to eat, she's very particular about her food." There was something in Maggie's voice. It was concern, but there was also fear in it. "I think we. . . kinda need to find her soon."

June held the phone tight in her hand and whispered in a hush tone. "Maggie, I'm going to ask you a question and I want a straight answer. Did Rachel accidentally overdose on her meds?"

There was a long moment of silence on the phone that gave June her answer before it was spoke. "No. She did it on purpose."


	5. Meetings

_A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out_. ~Grace Pulpit

The final errand Jack had to run was to pickup an ordered gift for her friend's baby shower and take to her at the hospital. After that, the Saturday was free to hang out with the Autobots. As they coasted up the main road, Jack took this moment to inquire about Echo.

"Echo is Echo." Arcee explained as her tires whispered across the pavement. "Let me put it this way. Echo would have had a harder time if she was as she before the war."

"I hate that she's having a hard time adjusting." Jack looked forward to find a convenient parking spot just ahead that was closest to the door. "I think she just needs more time. Wasn't it hard for you when you first came here?"

"What is that woman doing?" Arcee asked.

Jack slipped off his helmet and look to the right where a line of benches stood before the hospital. A woman with long brown hair that looked unruly was sitting with a cane leaning against the edge of the bench by her knees. She was holding her arms downward, the fingertips almost touching near her navel, then she lifted them up holding them as if she was carrying a large back of groceries. Jack watched her slowly stretched her arms out to her sides and then raise her right arm above her head. Her arms moved slowly, reminding him of willow being tugged He noticed that her eyes was closed and her head tilting as if she was listening to music only she can hear.

"I. . . I don't know." Jack looked the helmet strap over Arcee's handlebar. "Uhh, I'll be right back. Mom said that I just had to leave this at her station."

He reached into his backpack and took out the wrapped gift and headed inside. While he was gone, Arcee continued to watch the human woman. The woman positioned her arms slowly and Arcee realized that they were arm positions for some sort of human dance. The woman seemed to finish with her unheard music and lowered her arms to place her hands on the bench surface on either side of her knees. Her eyes opened and she stared at the road before her, eyes following each car that went by. There was a tension in her arms, potential energy ready to spring into action. Arcee watched her and waited to see what she would do.

The tightness in her shoulders evaporated and she seemed to sag onto the bench as if a heavy burden had been placed upon her. Her eyes glistened as they darted side to side in deep thought. Her arms crossed beneath her breasts in a tight self-hug and her head turned to spot Arcee. Her stared at the two-wheeler, making Arcee feel uncomfortable and wishing that Jack would come back soon.

* * *

><p>When Jack arrived at the nurse's station, he saw the baby in a car seat sitting on the edge of the counter and commented, "I thought she didn't have the baby yet?" At his voice, the infant looked at him with bright blue eyes over a round pacifier handle that bobbed from her suckles.<p>

"Oh, that's not Janice's baby, Jack. She belongs to one of the patients here." Cherie held a phone to her ear and she dropped it down to whisper to him. "Your mom said to tell you thanks and that she'll call you later. Right now, we're kinda busy."

"Sure. I'll just put this in her locker then." Five minutes later, Jack was leaving the front of the hospital and toward Arcee. He was grabbing his helmet when he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, it was the woman from earlier before that had waved her arms about before. "Uh, yes?"

"This is going to strange crazy and I swear, I don't usually do this, but I really really would like to go on a ride with you." The woman was clutching a cane at her side and was leaning heavily upon it.

For several moments, Jack didn't know what to say or do. Arcee was incapable of telling him anything due to the women was within hearing range. The woman was older than him, that much he can determine. She was no high school student trying to flirt and get a ride on Jack's awesome bike to up her reputation.

"I took you by surprise. I just. . . really got to get away from here." With that, she gingerly moved and swung a leg behind Arcee's back wheel to ease herself onto the leather seat. "It's. . . a matter of life or death, literally."

Jack hesitated, trying to form words, to create a argument of why he couldn't take her anywhere. There was so many good arguments to put forward. He didn't know her, he had things to do, she didn't have a helmet and he only had one, she was injured, his mom wouldn't let him. . . but none of those was put forward. Jack was too kind to ignore the pleading look in the woman's eyes, that desperate need for him to give in and do as she wanted, needed. "Where. . .where would you like to go?"

"Take me somewhere fun." She smiled, the relief spreading across her face as if she found happiness for the first time.

"Sorry, in Jasper, there isn't any place like that."

"Well, it's almost lunch. Let's go eat. My treat." The woman held out her hand to him. He noticed that the middle finger was slightly bent. "Rachel."

He took her hand, "Jack."

As they shook, Arcee was mentally berating Jack. They didn't have time for this! What if there was an attack? What if she was needed back at the base? This put her secret at risk. However, there was nothing she can do, lest she give away her secret.

Jack took his seat in front of her and realized that he was giving a member of the opposite sex a ride. The same warm heavy feeling came over him as it was when Sierra took the seat behind him months ago And the feeling became hotter and heavier when Rachel curled her arms around his waist, her cane tucked beneath her arm, gently prodding his ribs. He slipped on the helmet and remember something. "You don't have a helmet."

"Don't worry. I trust you to drive careful and I'll just hold on tighter." With that, her arms moved forward around him, clasping her wrists at his stomach. He felt her chest against his back and he was so grateful he had his helmet on lest everyone would see his face bright red.

He maneuver Arcee backwards and then left the parking plot with his passenger. Five minutes after they left, June Darby stepped out to look for a lost patient, not knowing that she had just left the premises.

* * *

><p>Echo had enough. She was getting stir crazy sitting along in her room with nothing to do, but listen to music she had heard countless times. The idea of exploration was becoming more and more attractive to the point that she decided to go.<p>

She exited her room, after storing away the music compact on herself and headed to the main part of the base. Fortunately, Miko had disappeared with her dreadful guitar likely dragging the huge body mass of Bulkhead with her. However, the yellow scout and his human friend had remained and was leaning over an open book of paper and plastic which the boy copied notes onto a piece of paper. Ratchet, the one bot she wanted to see, was at his usual console working on schematics and other such things she had no understanding of.

"Ratchet, I want to go out for a while. Maybe to the city to explore human life."

Ratchet glanced at her over his shoulder, an optic ridge raised. "You? Go out? Are you sure you want to get dirt on your tires?"

Echo understood that he was teasing and didn't mean any deep insult by it (or she hoped at least), but it still annoyed her nonetheless. "I'm not afraid of dirt. I just don't like it."

"You sure kick it up enough in your alt-mode." Ratchet grumbled under his breath.

Echo thought silently to herself, _but its fun to leave a dust cloud behind me. _Instead, she asked sweetly, "May I please use the ground bridge to explore this lovely planet, Medical Officer, Ratchet?"

He grunted again as he punched in the codes for the ground bridge. "Might as well take Raf and Bumblebee with you. They'll keep you out of trouble."

"Oh, I don't need supervision." Echo assured him.

"Its alright, Echo." Raf lifted his face from his text book. "I have to go home soon anyway. Bumblebee can take me home and we'll go part of the way with you."

Echo could hardly refused, since Raf was the human she found least annoying. He didn't play loud music and have a forward attitude, nor did he try to take Arcee away from her. "If its convenient for you to come with me, then I will not decline your offer."

* * *

><p>Jack had always thought when he would have lunch with a girl who wasn't his mother, he would be the one to pay for the meal. But Rachel directed him to one of the fancier restaurants in Jasper and refused to hear his protests when she drew out a credit card from her pocket. Looking at the menu made him wince. Some of the listed entrees could cover half of his mother's grocery bill. He chose the cheapest choice on the menu: a thick hamburger with a side of fries, thought it was still cot three times a KO burger would have cost. Rachel ordered a salad and wine.<p>

"So what grade are you in?" Rachel asked taking a sip of the courtesy water.

"The 10h grade." Jack replied feeling awkward. He could feel people staring at them. Jasper was a small town and his mother was a popular nurse and people recognized him as June Darby's son. "Are you in college?"

"Oh, no. My college years are behind me." Rachel smiled, leaning her cheek into one hand, elbow on the table. "So what do you plan to do after highschool?"

"Uh, not sure. I haven't really thought about it." Jack rubbed the back of his head. It was a question that had been presented to him by teachers before. He had always pulled something off the top of his head

"You have two years to think about it. My suggestion is think about something you love to do and you're good at it, then make a career out of it." Rachel beamed up at the waiter who brought her wine. When he left, she took a small sip watching Jack over the rim of the glass.

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair. What was he good at? And what about college? His mother had a college fund set up for him and would berate him for poor grades by asking him how he expected to get into college. But what college would he go to? There was the junior college in town, but what if it didn't have what he wanted for himself? Would he have to leave Jasper, leave his mother, and leave the Autobots?

He felt heavy stone drop into his stomach at the thought. He didn't want to leave Arcee and the others, but then did he want to spend the rest of his life in Jasper?

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Rachel's voice broke through the cold sweat of worry that was clouding his mind.

"What? No, no, no." Jack's cheeks flushed as he shook his head.

Rachel had her hands folded together and was balancing her chin on them with a gleaming smile on her lips. "So I take it that there is someone you like? Young men your age always like someone."

"Well, there is a girl. . . . " His mind thought about Sierra and then he turned away, facing the side window.

"I bet she's impressed by the motorcycle, I know I certainly am." Rachel nodded as the waiter brought their food.

Jack picked at his fries and glanced at Rachel who was helping herself to the salad dressing. "So, what about you? Are you married?"

Rachel lifted her chin, her hand still holding the salad dressing bottle. "I almost was."

Jack had to take a moment to let the implication of her response sink in. He wondered if he should change the subject or should he offer an apology. He didn't want to pry into her private affair, and just wanted to drop it. Instead, he heard himself ask, "Wh. . . what happened?"

"I changed my mind." Rachel replied taking up her wineglass and taking another sip. "It wasn't anything major. Our paths in life veered off into different directions. He wanted to marry me, have kids, and support me and the kids, but I wanted to dance on the stage as a professional ballerina. He said he'd wait, but I'm too selfish to be a good wife or mother, so I told him not to waste his time on me."

Silence followed as she took a long sip of wine. Jack felt guilt chew at him, sorry that he brought up the subject and inquired about it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Rachel flashed him a grin. "I'm not."

* * *

><p>Arcee wasn't happy. Not one bit. What was Jack thinking! Now she was stuck here while he was dating crazy lady in there. She considered leaving, but then where would that leave Jack? Unless Optimus summons her or there was Decepticon activity within the vicinity, she had no reason to leave. She'd have to stick it out and lecture Jack later.<p>

"Echo to Arcee. Come in Arcee."

Echo? She was in town also? Did she actually take her advice? "Echo, Arcee here. Where are you?"

"In front of Beef and Horn restaurant. Where are you?"

"Just around the corner with Bumblebee and Raf." And with that, a gold and yellow car turned the corner followed by a violent motorcycle with a rider in white.

Arcee more than relieved to see them. At least she wouldn't be sitting here by herself waiting for Jack. Bumblebee slowed to a stop while Echo parked in the empty spot side her. "I thought you and Jack were going to come back to the base after his chores?"

"He got. . . sidetracked." Arcee replied via their radio link. It allowed them to communicate without human's listening in. "Hopefully it shouldn't be too much longer."

Bumblebee buzzed in their coms.

"No problem, Bee. Raf should to go home before his mother worries. We'll see you back at the base."

The muscle car coasted away while Raf waved at them from the backseat. They stood together in silence, waiting for Jack.

"So. . ." Echo could never stay silent long. "Jack is in there with a girl?"

"She's older than him, so I wouldn't exactly call her a girl." Arcee explained, the impatience carrying heavy in her voice. "I don't trust her, but there's nothing I can do about it right now."

"Hmph, that's a nice way of repaying you for your dedication. Leave you out in the cold while he wines and dines a woman." Echo couldn't hide the smugness from her voice.

If Arcee was in her robot mode, she would have been glaring at her sister. "It's not like that. Jack is alright, he just gets distracted easily because he's a teenage boy."

"Teenagers, from what I learned of this world, are self-centered and rude." Echo muttered through the radio. "I sincerely don't understand why your team chose to partner up with them in the first place."

"Echo, I told you. It wasn't a matter of choice. It was an accident that they discovered us and we were assigned to them as guardians by Optimus, but it turned out to be the right decision. Bumblebee and Raf are very close and Bulkhead would rather fry his own circuits than let anything happen to Miko. Jack. . . Jack is very important to me too. You don't understand because you don't have a partner like we do."

Before Echo could respond, Jack opened the door and Rachel stepped out. Her cane clicked on the gravel as she left the darken interior of the restaurant. "Thanks, Jack. You are a real gentlemen. Trust me, that means a lot to a woman."

Jack shut the door, a sheepish look across his face. "Well, you did buy dinner and all. Do you want me to take you back to the hospital now?"

Rachel shook her head, her brown hair swinging against her shoulders. "No, not yet. It's still early; we can go somewhere else first." She turned her head and caught sight of the violent cycle. "Oh, my. So lovely."

Rachel maneuvered herself of the curb to stand close to the new cycle. She didn't see Jack's look of recognition when he spotted Echo. Rachel drew a finger across one of the fine stones embedded in the front. "Wow, this is really creative. I never saw anything like this before. What stones are these? I don't recognize them at all. I could swear this one was a diamond or maybe a ruby."

"Uh, that becomes to one of my. . . err, friends." Jack stuttered, glancing between Arcee and Echo.

"Really? Do you think they may be in the restaurant?" Rachel asked, her eyes never leaving the way the two-wheeler's panels sweep back into curves. "Or better yet, do you think they'll mind if I. . . just have a seat for a moment."

"What? You want to ride Echo. . .I mean, I mean, Echo's ride?" Jack glanced at Echo nervously, as if expecting some sort of sign from her. Echo never offered to take them on any rides, and the way she seemed so aloof from them, he could only guess that she wouldn't like it. "My friend. . .Echo. . . she's pretty particular, but not in a bad way. . . ."

"I'm not going to take it for a spin. I just want to take a seat on it. Don't tell me before you got your motorcycle that you never saw a bike and never wanted to just sit on it and imagine it was yours?" Rachel leaned her cane against Echo's side and leaning heavily on the handlebars, she managed to get one leg over. She hissed in pain, it was obviously too much, but she was happy to be there regardless. She encircled the handlebars with long fingers and leaned forward. "I can only imagine the freedom of movement, the fluidity of the world moving around me as I move beyond it." She pushed her lower back, her skirt bunching up above her knees as she leaned forward. "I'm getting shivers just sitting here."

Jack was silent, as he forced his eyes away from her bare thigh. Being around Sierra was awkward, but being around Rachel was similar, but held a heavy twinge with it. He felt good and wrong around her during times like this. "Uh, I can take you to the park next."

"The park? That's sounds like fun. Um, I hate to ask, but you are going to have to help me. I think I may have hurt my leg."

Jack stepped forward to grasp her arm and shoulder to lend her a stronghold as she hefted herself off the violet bike. He also had to help her onto Arcee. He believed in women's independence, he should after watching his mom be a single mother with a full time job, but it still felt good to be helpful and needed by a woman.

After they left, Arcee received a radio call from her sister. "What is it Echo?"

"Sis, I want a favor."

"What sort of favor?"

"I want to be introduced to Jack's friend."

Arcee was silent for a moment as she coasted along the street. "You already met her."

"No, I mean I want her to meet me as I really am. I want her as my partner."

Arcee was so shocked she ran a red light making Jack yelp, "Arcee!"

Rachel leaned forward, hugging him tightly from behind, making him feel warm and wrong at the same time. "What's wrong? You're lucky a cop didn't see you do that."

"Sorry, I uhhh. . . wasn't paying attention." Jack muttered. "Sorry about that."

"Arcee?" Echo's voice came persistently over the radio. "Did you hear me?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Arcee shouted back. "Are you crazy! We can't involve her just because you want a partner."

"But Arcee. . . "

"No, I mean it. Echo, I am telling you that whatever ideas you got about Rachel, you can forget them."

"We'll see." Echo's voice came back challenging.

"Echo, don't you dare undermine me. Don't you dare try anything. I am warning you. . ."

There was no response, and Arcee knew that Echo was going to push the issue in her own way. Because if there was one thing she knew about the old Echo: whatever Echo wanted, Echo usually worked at it until she got it.


	6. Memories and Gossip

What is told in the ear of a man is often heard 100 miles away. ~Chinese Proverb

"Echo, I repeat, do not, I mean DO NOT do anything stupid." Arcee was using her full authoritative tone, the one she saved for the battlefield, but even that didn't hold against the onslaught of Echo's desires.

There was no reply, but Arcee knew that her sister was following them. She didn't need her internal radar to know she was there staying near her new goal. Arcee didn't have a chance to get Jack to take the woman back to the hospital where she belong and out of Echo's reach.

What the Pit was Echo planning on doing? Just transform in front of the woman and scoop her up? For the thousandth time, she wished that Jack had an internal radio like a Cybertronian so can relay this information to him. But he remained unaware of the situation as he directed her to the nearby park.

It wasn't a large park; it held a playground for children and was grass with some trees and benches to rest upon. Some shops lined the other side of the street. On the corner was an ice cream shop right next to a dance studio. Jack parked Arcee and then helped Rachel off the bike. "Sorry, it's not much."

"No, no, it's alright, it's pretty." Rachel leaned heavily on her cane, a sign that her leg was hurting her more than she let on.

Without asking, Jack helped her to the nearest bench of which she sank heavily onto. "Thanks, Jack."

"How did you get hurt?" Jack had begun to wondered how she was injured.

"Oh, just an accident." Rachel rubbed her knee.

"Must be really bad to be a dancer and hurt your leg." Jack rubbed the back of his head. "When do you think. . . "

"Oh, is that an ice cream store? I would love to have some." Rachel pointed at the shop. "Though, I'd like a small one. . .in a cup. . . and fat free. And I want vanilla."

"Okay, but let me get it. I can cover ice cream since you covered the meal." Jack has some cash in his pocket and ice cream wasn't that expensive. "I'll be right back."

He trotted off across the grass, and Rachel watched him go. She thought about her youth and the boys she attended high school. Training and practice didn't leave much room for a high school social life, much less dating. "He's going to make a very good boyfriend for some lucky girl one day." She murmured to herself.

Arcee wanted for Jack to get far enough before she internally dialed his cellphone, but at the second, her call was blocked by another. Jack's phone rang as he crossed the park and he flipped it open and checked the caller id. His mom was calling him, likely to ask what he would like for dinner tonight or just to check on him.

"Hey, Mom." He answered by the third ring.

"Jack, good. Listen, while you were at the hospital, did you see a young woman? Brown hair with an injured leg?"

Jack paused when he stepped inside of the ice cream shop. "Yes. . .she was outside of the hospital."

"Did she go anywhere? Did she leave with anyone?" June's voice was carried a tight frantic octave to it.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Jack stepped out of the way of other ice cream patrons. "She wasn't supposed to leave the hospital?"

"No. Jack, it's very important that if you see this woman, you call me asap. She tried to kill herself and her sister is afraid that she'll try again."

Jack felt as if all the blood in his body had been replaced with ice water. For a long moment, he didn't think or feel anything. He could hear his mother's voice on the phone, but couldn't make out her words. But then he heard himself speak, "Why did she try to kill herself?"

"Because she got hit by a car and it ruined her leg. Her doctors say that she'll never dance again. And from what I heard, she was a celebrity ballerina." June explained. "I got to go, if you see her, call me."

"Yeah, mom. I will. Love you." He press the disconnect button and clicked the phone closed. He looked through the glass window and could see Rachel sitting along on the bench with her cane propped beside her. As he tried to process this heavy piece of information, his phone rang again. Oh god, his mom found him out!

The ID belong to Arcee. He answered by the second ring. "Arcee?"

"Jack! We need to take this woman back to the hospital, now."

"Wait, did my mom call you?"

"No! But Echo has gone crazy. She wants Rachel as her human partner. I told her no, but she never listens to me when she wants something."

"Yeah, I was thinking that we need to get her back to the hospital too." Jack muttered suddenly feeling a headache come on. "Does Rachel look sad to you?"

"She looks annoying and human to me, why?"

"Because my mom called and said that Rachel tried to commit suicide days ago."

There was a long moment of silence, and then he heard, "Scrap. Call your mother and have her come pick her up."

"Whoa, wait. Firstly, Mom would freak, secondly, Rachel would freak that I ratted her out."

"Jack, if she's suicidal, then she needs to go where they can help her. Ice cream won't fix her problems."

"But maybe it helps her." Jack brushed her hair out his eyes as he too another glance at Rachel. "I don't know, I feel sorta responsible for her. She seems normal, and she didn't act weird. She's a fun person; I just don't see it in her to hurt herself like that."

Then Arcee realized something. The reason why Echo wanted Rachel was that Rachel was who Echo was before, and that very thing that Arcee missed about her sister. Echo had been a fun person once. She often dragged Arcee around Crystal City like Rachel dragged Jack around. Maybe in taking Rachel as a partner, Echo was reclaiming a bit of herself from before the war.

"Alright Jack, after the ice cream, she has to go back to the hospital. And keep an eye out for Echo, she's around somewhere."

"Okay, it won't take long. Promise."

Just as Jack was buying the ice cream, a violet motorcycle with rider in white pulled up beside Arcee and the rider dematerialize. There was a moment of silence between them. It was often like this after they had a fight or a disagreement.

"Hello Arcee."

"Echo, look, I can understand why you took a liking to Rachel, but bringing her into our war isn't fair to her. Jack, and the others, they have helped us in the past, but their lives have been in danger because of it. Rachel has enough happening in her life without us making it harder for her."

Echo didn't reply right away. Just as Arcee was going to inquire if she heard, she replied, "Fair enough."

Arcee faltered in stunned silence. Echo, her sister Echo, gave up on something she wanted due to simple logic? "Really. You're going to give up that easily?"

"I took time to think about it and you're right. I like Rachel, I really do, but she's not for this war."

"Alright, this isn't some trick, right? You're not pretending to give in and then at the last second snatch her away."

"Sister, I'm not that juvenile." Echo sounded offended.

"Yes, you are. Remember that time when Jinx had those shoulder decors that you wanted so after rehearsal you took them from her locker. You ended up being suspended from the performance for the rest of the season."

"And so did you because you refused to perform without me." Echo's smile could be heard over the radio.

"Do you remember how Instructor Minerva's internal fans would buzz when she got mad? That time she buzzed so loud the musicians in the next studio complained."

"You nicknamed her because of it. Remember "Buzzing Nerva"?"

The radio crackled from their laughter, silent to all but themselves. For the moment, Arcee forgot her anger with Echo and her worry over Jack. "You turned that season to your advantage anyway. Remember, all the trouble we got into?"

"Yeah, like going to the gladiatorial Pit rings?" Echo replied in wistfully, enjoying the old memories. "You were terrified of anything that moved."

"It was a by the Will of Primus that we made it out of there alive! The Mechs were eyeing us as if we were femmes that came from the . . . Lower Slums."

"That's why you act as if you were supposed to be there and act miff if anyone suggests otherwise. There wasn't anything to worry about. Those mechs believed that pretty little femmes like us certainly had to belong to a boss mech that would tear them limb from limb if they touched us so that's why they only looked."

"That's what I always admired about you, Echo. You were never afraid of anything." Arcee murmured as she stared across the park to the jungle gym that small human children were climbing, playing with freely with no worries or anxieties.

"But look at you now. I dare say, you have gotten a lot braver and stronger since then. I almost don't recognize you sometimes."

* * *

><p>Just as Jack was leaving the ice cream shop, next door, a dance class was ending. Sierra was sitting with her friend on the row of chairs that parents or observers sit and watch their children practice. Her sister, Hayley, was busy gathering her things while Sierra chatted quietly with her friend Crystal.<p>

"Wait, is that Jack Darby outside?" Crystal pointed out the window where a Jack was walking carrying two ice creams. "And he bought two ice creams." Her voice was heavy with the implication of the heavy gossip this fact could bring. Who was the second ice cream for?

Sierra whipped her head around, green eyes staring after the boy she shared homeroom with. "Who is he taking it to?"

"He's heading to that bench. Who's that? I can't see from here."

"Is she from our school?" Sierra craned her head; maybe a better angle will make out more features.

"I can't believe. Jack Darby of all people has a secret date."

"Sierra, I'm ready to go." Hayley who was a smaller version of Sierra appeared with her dance back over her shoulder and cloth bag containing her tap shoes in hand.

"One second, Hayley." Sierra stood up and leaned toward the glass. The glare of the sun marred her vision, keeping her from seeing more details of the white figure on the bench.

"C'moonn! Mom said that you're supposed to get me home by five." Hayley whined, staying true to the role of a little sister.

"Alright, you little spaz!' Sierra muttered as she grabbed her book bag. "Let's walk around the park a little. Maybe we can get a better look without him seeing us."

"Cool, I want to get some pics." Crystal drew out her cellphone setting it to taking pictures.

The girls walked out, walking to the street corner and then crossing over to the park side. As they rounded the corner, Sierra kept her eyes on Jack as he sat down beside the girl and handed her an ice cream. Wait, that wasn't a girl . . . "

"Oh. My. God." Crystal gasped, her eyes growing wide. "She is definitely not from our school!"

The person Jack was dating was an older woman. Not old like her mom, but old enough to not be in school, but still be young and pretty. She heard the click of Crystal's cellphone snatching a picture as she wondered how Jack met this woman and who she was.

"OMG!" Hayley nearly shrieked pointing fiercely at the couple. "That's Rachel Lynn!"

"Who!" Both girls turned to the younger one.

"Rachel Lynn! You know! From the New York Ballet Company! She was danced the role of the Swan Princess of Swan Lake last year." Hayley exclaimed excitedly. "Wow! I can't believe she's here!"

Sierra stared incredulously at her 11 year old sister. "How in the world do you know her?"

"I took ballet last year, remember!" Hayley dropped her bag off her shoulder and dug through it until she pulled out a magazine which she thrust into Sierra's hand. "Look, page 11."

Sierra flipped to the page and stared in at the photos. Taking up half the page was a photo of a ballerina wearing a gown with a loose flowing skirt as she balanced perfectly on the tips of her toes on one foot while the other leg bend perfectly to the side. The woman's face looked peaceful, serene and her body breathed elegance and beauty, whereas the real life version looked a little rumple, tired, and deeply troubled, however they were the same woman. Sierra kept switching her eyes from the photo to the woman on the bench and to Jack, her brain having trouble absorbing the reality of the situation. However, her friend was easy to sum it up.

"Holy crap, Sierra. The guy that liked you is dating an older woman who is a celebrity dancer. The Net is going to explode when I post this."

"I want an autograph!" Hayley piped.

"No!" Sierra snapped slapping the magazine shut and stuffing it back into Hayley's bag. "C'mon, you said Mom wanted you back by five, so let's go right now."

"But. . . "

Sierra would hear none of it. She hauled Hayley off with her, her cheeks burning with anger and she didn't quite understand why.


	7. Dealings in the Desert

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate. ~Thomas Jones

"Hey, I brought the ice cream." Jack handed her the purchased the cup that Rachel requested while he held the cone he bought for himself.

"Jack, this is too much. Is this a small?" Rachel stared amazed at the large scoop of ice cream.

"Yeah, it's a small like you wanted." Jack sat down, drawing his tongue along the cold ice cream.

"I keep forgetting that America has a different idea of what constitutes a small size than the rest of the world." Rachel toyed with the ice cream with the provided plastic spoon before dipping it into her mouth.

"You been overseas?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes. Russia, France, Italy, and other places in Europe of whose name I can't pronounce. Ballet is pretty big in those places." Rachel pulled her spoon from her lips.

"Is that where you performed?" Jack glanced over his shoulder. Echo was parked there beside Arcee. He hoped they were patching things up.

"Yeah, and trained. There was this school in Russia that took in a few Americans and I was lucky enough to be chosen to go. That's how I got to meet the greatest ballet teacher that ever drew breath." Rachel stared down into her ice cream a small smile across her lips. "Her name was Vela. Don't ask me to say her last name, it's a tongue twister. We just called her Miss Vela."

"How old were you?" Jack had finished off his ice cream down to the cone.

"I was sixteen back then. I spent the whole summer over there learning with the best. Here, eat the rest of this." She handed her ice cream cup to him. It was barely touched.

Jack set the cup on the bench beside his knee. He was quiet for a moment, his cone not half eaten. "My mom called."

"Do you need to go home?"

"No, but. . . my mom works at the hospital."

There was a long moment of silence. Rachel stared off across the park, her eyes directed toward the little girls playing on a see-saw, but she wasn't watching them.

When she didn't speak, Jack continued, "She's a nurse. Her name is June Darby."

"No shit." Rachel murmured calmly. "Is she looking for me?"

"Yeah, but I didn't say anything."

"Thanks a million. I mean it." Rachel glanced at him giving him a warm grin. "I'm not ready to go back."

"Are you going back?" Jack asked her tossing what was left of his cone into the trash bin. "I mean, do you plan on it?"

Rachel's smile disappeared as she stared at Jack, as her eyes fixedly firmly on him. "Why do ask me that?"

Jack instantly regretted the question, but there was no taking it back now. "Mom said that you tried to . . ."

"Jack." Rachel's voice was sharp, halting him like stone wall. "Let's not talk about that. Bottom line, I don't want to go back right now. Not yet, alright."

Jack wanted to drop it, to let it lie since she obviously didn't want discuss it, but he pushed on anyway. "You didn't use me to get away from the hospital so you can. . . .off yourself."

"No! Jesus, no. I may be a bitch sometimes, but I'm not that big of a bitch." Rachel shook her head and wiped at one of her eyes. "I just had to get away from there or I was going to throw myself into that traffic. It was dragging me down and I just wanted to go away from there, I wanted to forget for a while. You showed up on your bike and that's when I took the chance of getting out of there."

"So you're not going to. . . to do anything?" Jack leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands together in front of him.

"I don't know."

The silence that followed was heavy and rung in their ears. Jack swallowed. Then swallowed again. This was too heavy for him, but he was here in the middle of it. What would his mother say to Rachel or Optimus Prime? Just telling her to cheer up didn't seem serious enough for what she was going through.

Fortunately, Rachel saved him. "Let's not talk about it. I don't plan on doing anything today, I promise. I want to go somewhere else. Will you take me to see the mountains if I promise not to jump off one?"

"What!" Jack stared at her amazed. "Why?"

"Why not?" She asked him, her smile returning now. "Please, I promise, after that we'll go back to the hospital."

"It's not safe in the mountains." Jack exclaimed holding up his hands to ward off her desires.

"Then a ride through the desert. I'll pay for the gas. Trust me, I'm good for it."

Despite, Jack's protests it was going to happen. Their next destination was the desert. By the time they had left the bench to turn to Arcee, her sister had left.

"I'm going to stick close, Arcee."

"You swear you are not going to try anything crazy?"

"No, but I can at least watch over her too." Echo replied. "However, if an opportunity arise. . . ."

"It won't." Arcee firmly asserted.

Not five minutes after they left, Crystal posted the picture of Jack and Rachel Lynn in the park with her cell phone. The headline at the top of the page went as followed Jack Darby on Date with Ballerina Celebrity.

* * *

><p>June Darby was not having a good day. A patient with suicidal tendencies has flown the coop under her watch and now she had to face the prospect of informing the doctor about this. Thus far, she and Maggie had kept it quiet and searched the hospital from top to bottom.<p>

Maggie begged June to hold off notifying the staff. "Listen, the last thing Rachel needs is for the media to get wind of this. They were pretty much all over her after the accident constantly shoving it into her face that her dance career was over. She doesn't need them splashing her misery all over the news."

"Fine, but if we don't find her, I have to alert the staff."

Maggie started calling the hotel she and Rachel shared before the incident and June went around canvasing the nursing station.

She leaned forward on the counter, face buried into her hands as she struggle to fight off a migraine. "God, help me."

Cherie had remained in her position in front of the computer. "He always does, hon."

"Where's Dr. Fortman? I might as well go ahead and tell him what happened."

"He's consulting with patients right now. I'm sure you'll catch him when he swings by for his lunch." Cherie replied not taking her eyes off the screen. "Hey, someone posted a picture of Jack with a girl."

"What?" June lifted her head instantly curious. Jack with a girl? Was it Sierra? Or Miko? She moved around the counter to look at the screen. It was a social network site that Jack and his school mates posted to.

June stared at the picture, her eyes slowly taking in the appearance of her son sharing an ice cream with her missing patient. Her maternal concern evaporated into parental anger as her eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. "He will be grounded until the next ice age."

* * *

><p>Jack had enough forethought to turn off his cellphone before they left the park. He didn't get Miko's incessant calls about the picture of him on a date, nor did he receive an angry call from his mother. He remained in ignorant bliss of the rumors flying around the student body and the incredible grounding his mother had planned for him.<p>

Arcee was tired and frustrated with the situation. She felt that they should be going in the opposite direction to the hospital. The woman needed help and she was dragging Jack into her problems. Not to mention that she doesn't completely trust that Echo had given up on claiming Rachel as a partner.

Rachel Lynn put her cheek against Jack's shoulder as she watched the sun dipping toward the mountains in a lazy haze. She dreaded going back to the hospital and having to deal with the reality of her dreams in shattered pieces. Going home would be a constant reminding of the young girl she had been who had work so hard and strived so far to get to the top and then be thrown down which was a very far spiral.

Meanwhile, in the distance behind the three, Echo followed behind with her headlight off.

* * *

><p>In the shade of a mountain, two vehicles parked: a red sports car and an armored van.<p>

"I can't believe we got assigned to this." Breakdown muttered over the radio. "Be more useful finding Autobots and busting their armor into hubcaps."

Knockout chose to ignore his partner. The main reason they were out here was more along the lines of a disciplinary action by Starscream for failing to safeguard an energon mine a week ago. How was he supposed to know that the Autobots had a new recruit in their ranks?

"How much longer?" Breakdown continued to whine, grating on Knockout's cranial circuits.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be here shortly." Knockout's voice carried evenly over the channel.

And sure enough, a figure appeared around the chasm of the mountain range. It was a blue Ferrari curving around the outcropping of rocks and approaching them with a hailing signal.

Knockout responded. The fellow before them wasn't a Decepticon, but he was wise enough to pay fealty each week in order to be allowed their 'hunt'. They were here to pick up another pay off of energon from this visiting group.

Before any words were exchanged, both Decepticons heard a distant boom that echoed throughout the desert and resounded off the mountains around them. It was followed by a series of rattles and the guffawing of voices shouting in verses at the same time, but different words. The caterwauling continued to grow louder, making their internals vibrate from the ferocity of the volume.

Rounding the corner, dragging a trailer behind it was a red Dodge that was bouncing on its tires as it traveled. The paintjob horrified the immaculate Knockout as it was covered in a shoddy shade of red and was covered in sloppily painted sigils and symbols ranging from a Yingyang on the right bumper and male/female signs on the hood. Then Knockout realized what that noise was. This fool had blaring on his stereo was five (or more) different songs playing at the exact same time. Kiss, Metallica, Ozzy Osborne, Skillet, Lady Gaga and others that he couldn't name were all struggled against each other in an orgy of bass, guitar, and voices all together into a hellish chaotic mess of sound.

When the red thing stopped, the music thankfully stopped as well. The trailer whined to a halt behind the red miscreant as its wheels settled into the dust.

"What the pit was that. . . .?" Breakdown's voice appeared on the channel they shared.

Knockout transformed, a weak smile in place as he murmured, "Well, that was certainly an entrance."

"Sorry about that." The blue transformer unfolded himself from his alt-mode. "Dodge here, just loves his music." The stranger before them stood at the same height as Knockout himself, but had a more slanted appearance with blades along his spread door wings.

His fellow transformed, into a lanky red mech with symbols covering his arms and legs. His face was long and angular with an affixed looping smile on his lips. "W'sup?"

Just by looking at him, Knockout had an incredible urge to polish himself. He fixed his gaze upon the leader of this outfit, Cutter. "I take it you have what we came for."

"Right here. 10 tons, as agreed upon." The blue bot rapped a knuckle on the trailer.

"What if we say it should be 15?" Breakdown, who had transformed his hammers up.

Knockout took this moment to put his face against his palm. Why was it that his partner deemed it necessary to muck up an easy job such as this?

Cutter inclined his head, his golden optics studying Breakdown's stance apathetically. He stood relaxed, not even putting his hands near his weapons to draw. Even the red mech seemed non surplus about the threat which only served to anger Breakdown whose broad frame seemed to tense up into potential energy just waiting to be released like an explosion.

"If the arrangement is to be changed, then it is something that I should discuss with the one that originally negotiated it." Cutter replied still not taking the possible fight seriously. "I'm going to politely ask you to take this payment for now and I'll discuss these changes with your leader."

"I don't do polite." Breakdown snarled, his desire for a fight growing with his anger. His body was ready to spring forward, hammer swinging.

Cutter tapped the side of his helmet. Not one second later, the right side of Breakdown's helm burst apart. He roared in shock and paint as energon and bits of his helm sprayed the ground. Then Cutter tapped his wrist and the hammer at Breakdown's right arm that had been upward in mid swing came off as another explosion ripped through the wrist.

"Sniper!" Knockout shouted outraged that he didn't see the trick before it was pulled. No wonder they were so relaxed. They had a sniper hidden away with a gun trained on them the whole time. "Get down you fool!"

"How much do we owe now?" Cutter had his hands behind his back, a crooked smile across his face.

"Slaggin' scraper." Breakdown hissed, hatred written across his face.

Cutter tapped his shoulder.

It had to be fearsome power behind the bullet that came forth, for that it tore through Breakdown's thick armor from the back and out the front to singe into the ground beneath him. It was followed by thick chunks of armor and energon from the open wound. Knockout whipped his head around, looking for the sniper, but could see nothing.

"Again, I will ask you. How much do we owe you?" Cutter spoke with a twisted smile as his hand touched his brow, reading to give it a tap.

"Seven tons!" Knockout shouted. "Seven tons this week."

Cutter lowered his hand and made a wave motion with his fingers. "That sounds fair to me. How about you, Dodge? Is that fair?"

"Very fair." The red mech was nearly bouncing on his pedes in mirth.

Cutter placed his hands behind his back, a satisfied smile that Knockout wanted very much to cut off his face. "You see? You treat us fairly and we treat you fairly. I think the humans call it, do unto others as you would have them do unto you? A very wise proverb, I daresay."

Breakdown was still cursing under his breath, but he was collected now. Choosing not to fight right now, but in his spark he was swearing revenge on both of them and the hidden sniper. Knockout, on the other hand, was wondering how he was going to explain to Megatron that they missed out on some energon due to Breakout's stupidity.

Cutter touched his audio, his optics flicked down as he listened to an incoming message. He turned to the Cons and said, "My sniper says that she spotted one of the Autobots with human pets. If she killed them, would it lower our future payments by 30 percent?"


End file.
